ASUS Republic of Gamers showcases latest gaming laptops at CES 2019

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today introduces its latest lineup of gaming laptops at CES 2019, including the ROG Mothership, ROG Zephyrus S GX701, ROG G703, ROG Zephyrus S GX531, ROG Strix SCAR II, and ROG Strix Hero II. This full top-to-bottom lineup is filled with updates that elevates your portable PC gaming experience across a diverse family of form factors from the ultra-slim Zephyrus S to the musclebound G703.

Meet Republic of Gamers GeForce RTX gaming laptop family

After raising the bar for desktop gaming performance and visual quality, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series is poised to do the same for laptops. The new Turing architecture is going mobile, and Republic of Gamers has a diverse lineup to meet any gamer’s needs.

More than just vehicles for the latest GPU, ROG’s GeForce RTX lineup showcases our commitment to enhancing every aspect of gaming laptops. It’s filled with incredibly fast displays framed by amazingly slim bezels, amplifying immersion to draw you deeper into your favorite games. Advanced cooling ensures maximum performance with minimal acoustics and lets you choose between system profiles tuned for different scenarios. Add cutting-edge components and exclusive ROG features, and you have the right foundation for a full family that stands apart from the rest.

Gamers have different priorities, so our laptops follow suit. The desktop replacement emphasizes performance over portability with a traditional clamshell in the ROG G703. It is joined by the ultra-slim ROG Zephyrus S GX531 that’s augmented to go beyond gaming. The ROG Strix SCAR II and Hero II reprise their roles in the eSports arena with portable form factors filled with competition-grade hardware.

The ROG G703 carries the torch for desktop replacement clamshells

While the just introduced ROG Mothership represents the future, the ROG G703 takes the present into the next generation. It is powered by 8th Generation Intel Core processors with an optional factory-overclocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor for speeds of up to 4.8GHz. Sticking to a traditional 17” laptop form factor requires beefier cooling and a thicker chassis to achieve the same performance as its deep-breathing sibling. The larger heatsinks and fans are so effective that the G703 can keep up despite having much less room to breathe.

ROG G703 features an IPS-level display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 3ms gray-to-gray (GTG) response time, and NVIDIA G-SYNC technology, allowing for super smooth gameplay even on Ultra graphics settings. G703 also features HyperDrive Extreme storage, which uses exclusive technology to combine three NVMe PCI Express (PCIe) SSDs in RAID 0 configuration for read speeds of up to 8700MB/s — the fastest ever on a laptop.

Sticking to a familiar design imparts a different sort of versatility. The ROG G703 can sit on your lap in a pinch, which for some will mean the difference between making and missing a deadline, especially when on location or on the road. Despite being rooted in tradition, the G703 still incorporates the latest technology and features to ride the cutting edge.

The ROG Zephyrus S GX531 sets the standard for slimness

Putting high-end gaming components into an ultra-slim laptop is exceedingly difficult, especially when targeting a thinner chassis than ever before, but the Zephyrus S GX531 delivers with a remarkably compact body that’s a testament to ROG’s engineering prowess. The slender exterior measures nearly 15mm thin and leverages a 15.6” display with super-narrow bezels to squeeze into a smaller footprint, so you can easily stuff the system into bags made for laptops with much less power.

The ROG Zephyrus S GX531 lowers its profile without scaling back on specifications. You get cutting-edge parts like the latest Intel Core i7-8750H CPU, a premium 144Hz refresh rate display plus all the ROG essentials. They are just squeezed into a slimmer package that lacks some of the extras available in the new compact 17” ROG Zephyrus S GX701. That makes the smaller Zephyrus S a more focused alternative for people who prioritize portability above everything else.

Split the difference with ROG Strix laptops for different genres

ROG Strix occupies a more mainstream middle ground between beast-like desktop replacements and premium ultra-slim gaming laptops. The Strix form factor melds performance and portability with distinctive designs that stand out from the masses. At the same time, its super-narrow bezels blend in seamlessly, making it easier to get involved in the action on screen.

Your hands will feel right at home on the desktop-style keyboard, which is augmented by dedicated shortcut keys for volume, mute, and Armoury Crate. Enhanced lighting spreads an illuminated glow beyond the deck and onto not only the ROG logo on the lid, but also a diffused strip that runs across the front edge of the laptop. Addressable as two separate zones, this light bar casts an Aura Sync glow into your environment and offers a multitude of customization options.

Designed to hit the sweet spot, the latest ROG Strix gaming laptops are available with six-core Intel Core i7-8750H processors backed by up to 32GB of RAM. They combine speedy solid-state system drives with a terabyte of additional mechanical capacity that provides loads of space for larger game libraries. The auxiliary hard drive can also be swapped for a faster SSHD that caches frequently accessed data to accelerate load times.

Set up for shooters with the ROG Strix SCAR II

Built for the FPS side of the eSports arena, the ROG Strix SCAR II comes in 15.6” and 17.3” flavors available with the same 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. Both versions are draped in a shooter-inspired motif that uses splashes of camouflage to create a unique aesthetic fit for the battlefield. Highlighted WASD keys further reinforce the SCAR’s roots and ensure that you can easily find the home row for FPS gaming.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics give the 15” SCAR II GL504GV and 17” SCAR II GL704GV enough horsepower to drive triple-digit frame rates in popular shooters. Serious gamers should upgrade to the GeForce RTX 2070, though; the SCAR II GL504GW and GL704GW offer this more powerful graphics with both screen sizes, providing additional performance headroom for competitive gaming, demanding AAA titles, and cutting-edge VR experiences. Choose between a larger 17” display that is more immersive and a compact 15” display that is more portable.

Made for MOBAs: meet the ROG Strix Hero II

The ROG Strix Hero II is optimized for MOBAs and ideal for gamers who want subtler styling. Its contrasting textures and cyber-text patterns are more restrained than the aggressive aesthetic of the SCAR II, making the Hero II more approachable for wider audiences.

Instead of highlighting the WASD cluster, translucent key caps impart an extra glow to the QWER row. The Hero is available exclusively with GeForce RTX 2060 graphics that are more than up to the task of pushing high frame rates in MOBAs and other popular games. Like with the SCAR II, NVIDIA Optimus technology conserves power by only activating the discrete GPU when needed, so you get longer battery life day to day and better gaming performance on demand.

Shared DNA across the ROG Lineup

Varied form factors and specifications help the new family of ROG GeForce RTX gaming laptops appeal to a broad range of gamers and power users with different needs and budgets. There’s something for everyone, whether you live for gaming or want a single system that can mix work and play without sacrificing the experience for either one.

Gorgeous graphics go beyond the GPU

NVIDIA’s Turing architecture augments familiar CUDA cores for programmable shading with RT cores for ray tracing and Tensor cores for AI acceleration. These hardware resources enable developers to create more realistic real-time effects that make lighting, shadows, and reflections more lifelike than ever before. Even without next-gen eye candy taking advantage of their varied cores, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs set a new standard for gaming and VR performance for portable PCs.

While the GPU generates frames, the display is responsible for completing the experience by putting them in front of your eyes. That’s why we work closely with panel providers to develop screens that meet our exacting standards and push the industry forward. All of our NVIDIA GeForce RTX gaming laptops are available with high-refresh 144Hz panels capable of delivering true triple-digit frame rates. Grey-to-grey response times of just 3ms minimize ghosting and blurring to produce a crystal-clear view that helps you see every detail when the action gets heavy.

Gaming laptops typically make the user choose between the smoother experience of NVIDIA G-SYNC and the longer battery life possible with NVIDIA’s Optimus tech, which intelligently deactivates the GPU to save power as needed; you can have a machine with one or the other but not both. However, the ROG G703 adds a unique GPU switch that lets the same system go between G-SYNC mode for gaming and Optimus mode for better battery life. All it takes is a few clicks and a reboot.

Hardcore horsepower that stays cool under pressure

Coffee Lake CPUs with up to six cores and 12 threads complement the lineup’s graphics prowess with plenty general-purpose processing power. These 8th Generation IntelCore processors combine the high clocks required for maximum gaming performance with the additional cores needed to tackle heavy multitasking and demanding workloads that go beyond gaming. System profiles tune performance and acoustics for different situations; Turbo mode opens the taps for maximum speed on demand, Silent mode dials back to lower noise levels for lighter loads, and balanced mode hits the sweet spot for serious gaming. Switching between modes is as easy as pressing a shortcut key.

Effective cooling is critical whether you’re blasting baddies during an epic gaming marathon or loading up the CPU with video rendering and other intensive tasks. This is especially true for gaming notebooks with limited internal space for heatsinks and fans. The cramped quarters inside laptop chassis require clever engineering and attention to every little detail. All of our NVIDIA GeForce RTX laptops employ dual 12V fans capable of moving more air at higher RPMs than their 5V counterparts. The housings incorporate anti-dust tunnels that catch particles and direct them out of the back, which prevents buildup on the heatsinks that could otherwise compromise long-term performance and stability.

Feel right at home on desktop-style keyboards

Desktop-style keyboard layouts make our RTX series more familiar for players who go back and forth between their battlestation at home and a gaming laptop on the road. Separated blocks of function keys are easier to find, and the larger spacebar provides a bigger target for your thumb. Key presses fire faster thanks to Overstroke technology, which actuates earlier in the travel for a quicker response while also extending the post-actuation distance to improve typing feel. Anti-ghosting tech ensures that each press registers precisely, even if you’re mashing multiple keys at once.

RGB backlighting enhances the keyboard’s visibility and provides the freedom to choose your own colors and effects. Per-key lighting control is available on some models, as are separate zones that illuminate other accents

It’s the supporting cast that makes a difference

DDR4 system memory is standard equipment across the board, and all models can be configured with wicked-fast NVMe SSDs. Intel Gigabit WiFi is also integrated from top to bottom, enabling greater-than-gigabit speeds with compatible 802.11ac Wave 2 routers like the ROG Rapture GT-AC5300. ROG RangeBoost technology uses pairs of antennas to improve signal strength and extend range. WiFi antennas work best in a specific orientation, so we carefully position multiple antennas to cover each other’s dead spots. RangeBoost constantly scans your surroundings and intelligently shifts between antennas to sustain the strongest signal.

Smart amplification closely monitors the speakers to prevent them from exceeding temperature and excursion thresholds. Users can crank the volume without damaging the cones and enjoy louder output with less distortion. Headsets plug in via standard 3.5-mm audio jacks or a selection of USB ports in Type-A and reversible Type-C flavors. Our Sonic Studio III software simulates surround sound for stereo devices, and you can apply it and other effects to a wide range of devices that includes headphones, speakers, USB DACs, and VR headsets.

ROG Armoury Crate software unifies system tuning and lighting control in a single powerful utility. It includes four game profiles that load preferred settings automatically when specific applications launch, instantly adapting your system to the title or task at hand. Link your laptop to Armoury Crate on a mobile device to put monitoring and control on a separate screen that you can keep an eye on without interrupting gameplay.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

Republic of Gamers new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series based gaming notebooks will start selling in the coming months. ASUS says gamers should check with your local ROG representative for details about availability, configurations, and pricing in your region.